# 2020 California Golden Bears football team

The 2020 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Justin Wilcox, in his fourth year as head coach. The team's offense was led by Bill Musgrave, who replaced Beau Baldwin; Baldwin left to become the head coach at Cal Poly.
On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 Conference canceled all Fall 2020 sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 24, it was announced that a seven-game season would be played in 2020, and the schedule was officially announced on October 3. Due to additional COVID-related game cancellations, the Bears ultimately only played four games and finished with a 1–3 record for the season, with the sole win coming against No. 23 ranked Oregon.

## Offseason
### Position key

| Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB |
| Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E |
| Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K |
| Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB |
| Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB |
| Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |

### Offseason departures

Nine Golden Bears graduated in 2020, and three were selected in the 2020 NFL draft.

### Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaden Casey QB | Calabasas, CA | Calabasas High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 14, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jeremiah Hunter WR | Fresno, CA | Central East High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | May 11, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Muelu Iosefa OLB | Millilani, HI | Millilani High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 11, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Collin Gamble CB | Argyle, TX | Liberty Christian High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 39 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020. "ESPN commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020. "247Sports commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020. ||||||

## Preseason

On January 3, 2020, Cal announced that it would hire former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave as its next offensive coordinator, replacing Beau Baldwin. Musgrave, an Oregon alumnus like Wilcox, began his coaching career as quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 1997. He last coached at the collegiate level as an offensive coordinator for Virginia in 2001–2002.
On January 10, Angus McClure was announced as the next offensive line coach. McClure spent 11 years at UCLA. Four days later, Aristotle Thompson was hired as the running backs coach. Thompson was the running backs coach at Cal Poly prior to being hired at Cal.
Cal's defensive line coach, Gerald Alexander, was hired to the same position by the Miami Dolphins on January 24. Cal announced it would hire former Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates to replace him the following day.
On March 4, it was announced that Peter Sirmon would be made co-defensive coordinator alongside Tim DeRuyter.

### Pac-12 media poll

In the 2020 Pac-12 preseason media poll, California was voted to finish in second place in the North Division.
Media poll (North Division) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Oregon | 222 (35) |
| 2 | California | 176 (3) |
| 3 | Washington | 161 |
| 4 | Stanford | 105 |
| 5 | Oregon State | 76 |
| 6 | Washington State | 58 |

## Schedule

Cal's 2020 regular season was announced on January 16. The Golden Bears had 3 games scheduled against UNLV, TCU, and Cal Poly, but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 11, the Pac-12 Conference canceled all Fall 2020 sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following an agreement that boosted testing capacity for players and personnel, the conference announced it would play a seven-game football schedule beginning in November. The schedule would see Cal play all five division opponents, Arizona State from the Pac-12 South division, and a season-closing game against the equally-ranked team in the opposite division (the division winners will play each other in the conference championship, while the team that finishes second in the North division plays the team that finishes second in the South division).
On November 13, Cal's scheduled game at Arizona State for November 14 was canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak within the Arizona State program. The Pac-12 then announced that Cal would instead play at UCLA on the morning of November 15; the Bruins' scheduled game against Utah had also been canceled after Utah had a COVID-19 outbreak.
Original 2020 California Golden Bears schedule :
| Date | Opponent | Site |
| August 29 | at UNLV* | Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV |
| September 5 | TCU* | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
| September 12 | Cal Poly* | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
| September 26 | Utah | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
| October 3 | at Washington State | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA |
| October 10 | at USC | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA |
| October 17 | Oregon | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
| October 24 | at Oregon State | Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR |
| October 31 | Washington | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
| November 7 | at Arizona State | Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ |
| November 21 | Stanford | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA (Big Game) |
| November 27 | UCLA | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA (rivalry) |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Washington | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | ESPN | No Contest | |
| November 15 | 9:00 a.m. | at UCLA | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (rivalry) | FS1 | L 10–34 | — |
| November 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | FS1 | L 27–31 | — |
| November 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Stanford | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA (Big Game) | FOX | L 23–24 | — |
| December 5 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 23 Oregon | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | ESPN | W 21–17 | — |
| December 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at Washington State | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | FS1 | No Contest | |
| December 19 | | Arizona | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | | No Contest | |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At UCLA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Bruins | 7 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California
* Date: November 15, 2020
* Game time: 9:00 a.m.
* Game weather: Clear, sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Steven Strimling
* TV announcers (FS1): Aaron Goldsmith (play-by-play) and Brady Quinn (analyst)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
CAL – Dario Longhetto 31-yard field goal, 11:12. California 3–0. Drive: 6 plays, 3 yards, 2:38.
UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson 2-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 0:58. UCLA 7–3. Drive: 15 plays, 88 yards, 6:20.
Second Quarter
UCLA – Charles Njoku 27-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 11:45. UCLA 14–3. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 3:04.
CAL – Chase Garbers 8-yard run (Dario Longhetto kick), 7:10. UCLA 14–10. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:35.
UCLA – Chase Cota 6-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (kick failed), 5:49. UCLA 20–10. Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards, 1:14.
UCLA – Kyle Philips 5-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 1:17. UCLA 27–10. Drive: 3 plays, 13 yards, 1:22.
Third Quarter
No scoring plays.
Fourth Quarter
UCLA – Brittain Brown 31-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 10:12. UCLA 34–10. Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards, 4:15.
Top passers
CAL – Chase Garbers – 18/33, 122 yards, int
UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson – 14/26, 196 yards, 3 TD, int
Top rushers
CAL – Christopher Brown – 8 rushes, 25 yards
UCLA – Demetric Felton – 25 rushes, 107 yards
Top receivers
CAL – Collin Moore – 2 receptions, 28 yards
UCLA – Greg Dulcich – 3 receptions, 80 yards :

### At Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Beavers | 14 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon
* Date: November 21, 2020
* Game time: 12:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 41 °F (5 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Chris Coyle
* TV announcers (FS1): Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Ben Leber (analyst)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
OSU – Jermar Jefferson 75-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 14:42. Oregon State 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:18.
CAL – Makai Polk 7-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 10:30. Tied 7–7. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:12.
OSU – Teagan Quitoriano 35-yard pass from Tristan Gebbia (Everett Hayes kick), 5:47. Oregon State 14–7. Drive: 1 play, 35 yards, 0:09.
Second Quarter
CAL – Dario Longhetto 26-yard field goal, 14:49. Oregon State 14–10. Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards, 5:58.
CAL – Kekoa Crawford 21-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 2:31. California 17–14. Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards, 2:05.
CAL – Dario Longhetto 52-yard field goal, 0:00. California 20–14. Drive: 11 plays, 30 yards, 1:24.
Third Quarter
OSU – Everett Hayes 35-yard field goal, 6:20. California 20–17. Drive: 13 plays, 53 yards, 5:45.
Fourth Quarter
OSU – Tristan Gebbia 8-yard pass from Tyjon Lindsey (Everett Hayes kick), 13:35. Oregon State 24–20. Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 2:57.
CAL – Jake Tonges 2-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 8:04. California 27–24. Drive: 6 plays, 32 yards, 2:21.
OSU – Tristan Gebbia 1-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 4:30. Oregon State 31–27. Drive: 3 plays, 14 yards, 0:56.
Top passers
CAL – Chase Garbers – 28/42, 315 yards, 3 TD, 2 int
OSU – Tristan Gebbia – 12/20, 147 yards, TD, 2 int
Top rushers
CAL – Marcel Dancy – 17 rushes, 76 yards
OSU – Jermar Jefferson – 18 rushes, 196 yards, TD
Top receivers
CAL – Kekoa Crawford – 10 receptions, 141 yards, TD
OSU – Teagan Quitoriano – 4 receptions, 65 yards, TD :

### Stanford

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
at California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California
* Date: November 27, 2020
* Game time: 1:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Clear, 64 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Matt Richards
* TV announcers (FOX): Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
CAL – Kekoa Crawford 7-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 10:32. California 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:28.
Second quarter
STAN – Jet Toner 27-yard field goal, 14:55. California 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:29.
CAL – Dario Longhetto 24-yard field goal, 10:15. California 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:40.
STAN – Michael Wilson 11-yard pass from Davis Mills (Jet Toner kick), 3:09. Tied 10–10. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 0:57.
Third quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 2-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 10:57. Stanford 17–10. Drive: 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:00.
CAL – Nikko Remigio 3-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 9:13. Tied 17–17. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.
STAN – Austin Jones 8-yard run (Jet Toner kick), 1:51. Stanford 24–17. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 4:28.
Fourth quarter
CAL – Christopher Brown 3-yard run (kick blocked), 0:58. Stanford 24–23. Drive: 14 plays, 90 yards, 3:30.
Top passers
STAN – Davis Mills – 24/32, 205 yards, TD
CAL – Chase Garbers – 19/29, 151 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 21 rushes, 85 yards, 2 TD
CAL – Damien Moore – 10 rushes, 121 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Michael Wilson – 7 receptions, 88 yards, TD
CAL – Kekoa Crawford – 5 receptions, 52 yards, TD :

### Oregon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Ducks | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
at California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California
* Date: December 5, 2020
* Game time: 4:05 p.m.
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Taylor McGregor
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
ORE – Henry Katleman 21-yard field goal, 8:06. Oregon 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:19.
CAL – Chase Garbers 1-yard run (Dario Longhetto kick), 2:23. California 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 5:43.
Second Quarter
CAL – Bradrick Shaw 1-yard run (Dario Longhetto kick), 5:31. California 14–3. Drive: 19 plays, 80 yards, 9:51.
ORE – Johnny Johnson III 39-yard pass from Tyler Shough (Henry Katleman kick), 2:08. California 14–10. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:23.
ORE – Cyrus Habibi-Likio 1-yard run (Henry Katleman kick), 0:23. Oregon 17–14. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:23.
Third Quarter
CAL – Nikko Remigio 28-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Dario Longhetto kick), 5:14. California 21–17. Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 2:21.
Fourth Quarter
No scoring plays.
Top passers
ORE – Tyler Shough – 14/26, 231 yards, TD
CAL – Chase Garbers – 20/32, 183 yards, TD
Top rushers
ORE – Travis Dye – 12 rushes, 71 yards
CAL – Marcel Dancy – 5 rushes, 34 yards
Top receivers
ORE – Travis Dye – 2 receptions, 85 yards
CAL – Nikko Remigio – 6 receptions, 81 yards, TD :

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 4 | 125 | Camryn Bynum | CB | Minnesota Vikings |